


Out of Time (Sorry, Valentine)

by TheInsaneFox



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anal Sex, Everyone Thinks They're Together, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, He just wanted to help, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Valentine's Day, kosmo is a good boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 04:39:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17891642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheInsaneFox/pseuds/TheInsaneFox
Summary: Keith would be the first to admit that his experience with relationships was lacking. He’d always been a loner, so when Shiro came into his life, he just assumed all friendships were like that. It had never even occurred to him that maybe the feelings he had for his best friend went beyond that—even when Adam was in the picture, Keith told himself he was just happy to be best friends with Shiro.He should have known better than to trust his own instincts when it came to anything involving relationships with other people.





	Out of Time (Sorry, Valentine)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nellofu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellofu/gifts).



> This is my fic for Sheithlentines 2019! My Valentine wanted oblivious Sheith and a cameo by Kosmo. I hope you like it, Valentine!!!

Keith would be the first to admit that his experience with relationships was lacking. He’d always been a loner, so when Shiro came into his life, he just assumed all friendships were like that. It had never even occurred to him that maybe the feelings he had for his best friend went beyond that—even when Adam was in the picture, Keith told himself he was just happy to be best friends with Shiro.

Voltron and the other Paladins, of course, showed him how wrong that assumption was, but as soon as the war ended he felt things sliding into a new normal for them all.

He’d noticed that Shiro had become much more open with physical touch. It was commonplace for Shiro to leave a lingering hand on the small of Keith’s back while they walked, or to throw an arm over his shoulders while the group was hanging out on the couch watching a movie. Sometimes Shiro would even plant a soft kiss to his temple when nobody else was looking.

All of these were things Keith never thought twice about. After everything they had been through together, he just figured they’d grown much closer. That it was all just what friends did together.

He should have known better than to trust his own instincts when it came to anything involving relationships with other people.

One night Lance found Keith in the common room of the Atlas, reading a book at the end of the couch with Kosmo curled up next to him. If he were anyone else, Lance would know better than to interrupt Keith while he was reading. (Or rather, he did know better, he just didn’t care).

“Keith, buddy!” Lance cried as he hopped over the back of the couch and landed next to Keith with a heavy ‘oomph’. Kosmo opened one eye and gave an irritated growl before cuddling back up to Keith.

“Lance,” Keith sighed, voice dripping with exasperation.

“Nuh-uh, no.” Lance wagged his finger at Keith. “I know Shiro is gone tonight, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you sulk alone.”

“I’m not. Sulking, I mean.” Keith barely looked up from his book, giving Lance a solid side-eyed glance while he turned the page.

“You kinda are,” Lance argued, shrugging as he spoke. “Every time Shiro leaves on a mission, you wander around like a lost puppy.”

“Fuck off,” Keith snapped. “I don’t need Shiro around all the time. I can function just fine on my own.”

“If functioning on your own means hiding away with a book and a space wolf, then sure.”

There was a loud snap as Keith slammed his book shut, knowing full well he was not going to get any reading done so long as Lance was around. “What do you want?”

Lance feigned hurt at Keith’s abrasiveness, clutching a hand to his heart. “Keith, my friend. I am here to pull you out of your slump and make sure you have fun for once while your boyfriend is off saving the universe. We’re all tired of watching you mope like a wounded animal every time he’s gone.”

“Shiro isn’t my boyfriend,” Keith replied reflexively, not even registering the rest of what Lance had said.

A proverbial pregnant pause forced its way between them at that, Keith’s expression completely neutral while Lance’s was nothing short of incredulous. The only noise in the room for a good few minutes was when Kosmo yawned, emitting a high pitched whine, before standing up to stretch and conveniently warping out of the room.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Lance finally said.

“No. Why would I be?”

Lance signed and buried his face in his hands, mumbling in Spanish before returning his gaze to Keith. “You two have been acting like a couple for months. What bullshit is this that you’re not dating?”

“We’re just not.” Keith shrugged as if the information should be the most obvious thing in the world.

Lance threw his hands up. “You know what? Whatever. Forget it. I came here to invite you to hang out with Allura and me since you were looking so pathetic, but all my sympathy is gone. Keep sulking, I give up.”

Keith watched as Lance stood and stormed out of the room, one eyebrow raised in total confusion. Kosmo chose that moment to warp back into the room, holding a chew toy that didn’t look familiar so he must have stolen it from Bebe. Keith groaned and made a mental note that he owed the Holts’ another new dog toy.

 

* * *

  

Shiro returned a few days later, along with the MFE pilots. There was little fanfare, just the usual lining up of the crew in the hangar of the Atlas to receive their ships. Keith was, of course, amongst those waiting. After a quick debriefing, Shiro saluted Iverson and made a beeline for Keith the instant he was given permission to leave.

No words needed to be spoken as Shiro bound up to Keith and wrapped him in a fierce embrace. Keith returned the hug, burying his face in Shiro’s neck and breathing in his scent. He’d only been gone a little over a week, but it felt like a piece of Keith’s soul had returned with Shiro.

A low whistle from somewhere nearby caught their attention, followed by James calling, “Get a room!”

Shiro laughed and told him to mind his own business, but swung an arm around Keith’s shoulders and led him away from the crowd nonetheless.

“Do you want to go grab dinner?” Keith asked, nodding in the direction of the mess hall. “I’m starving.”

“I’m actually pretty beat, thinking of just going back to my room and turning in for the night.”

“Oh,” Keith tried to hide the disappointment in his voice.

Shiro pressed his lips to the crown of Keith’s head. “Hey, we’ll hang out tomorrow. Promise. I’m just exhausted and won’t be much fun tonight.”

Keith nodded, not trusting himself to say anything. It was stupid, really. They weren’t dating, no matter what Lance said, but for some reason, it still stung more than he wanted to admit that Shiro didn’t want to spend time with him the minute he returned to the Atlas.

Still, he forced himself to nod and leaned into Shiro’s touch, allowing himself that much. “Okay. Tomorrow.”

“It’s a date,” Shiro’s smile was evident in his grin.

They parted ways when the hallway split between the residence halls and the mess hall, with a promise to text each other on their datapads as soon as they were awake.

 

* * *

 

Somehow, Keith found himself sitting at the same table as the MFE pilots, Veronica, and Acxa at dinner. Pidge and Hunk had taken their meals back to their workshop to keep working on some project that had their full attention at the moment, and Lance and Allura were being so grossly cute that Keith was fairly sure he would end up vomiting his dinner all over them if he had to endure another minute of their public displays of affection. It was disgusting, really.

“Where’s lover boy?” A male voice pulled Keith back to the present.

He leveled James with a glare. “We’re not dating,” He repeated for what felt like the hundredth time that night. No matter how much he told James that he and Shiro were just friends, he refused to let it go.

“Leave him alone, Griffin,” Veronica sighed, taking a sip of her tea. “He says they’re not dating. That’s the end of it.”

“It’s true. I would smell it on him if he and Shiro were having intercourse,” Acxa threw in, oblivious to the choking sounds that came from everyone around her.

Keith threw his fork down in utter frustration. “If I wanted to be interrogated, I would have had dinner with my mom and Kolivan.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. I’ll lay off,” James raised his hands in surrender, but Keith only snarled in response.

The chatter around them died somewhat, everyone in the mess hall stopping to stare at the scene that was unfolding. Keith’s eyes were taking on a yellow tint, which they only did when he was feeling stressed, and James looked like he had some snarky comment on the tip of his tongue but knew better than to set it free.

Kinkade tried to diffuse the tension by saying James should come and help him edit some of the footage he’d shot on the mission. At first, James tried to refuse, but the look he received from Keith made him swallow. Leifsdottir looked from one person to the next before blandly stating, “It would appear that this atmosphere has become quite tense.”

That finally made James jump up out of his seat and follow Kinkade out of the room, stopping only long enough to flash an apologetic smile back at Keith before practically sprinting down the hallway.

“James is an idiot, but he’s just trying to help in his own way.” Rizavi didn’t even finish chewing her food before breaking the silence.

Keith groaned and let his head crash into the Formica table with a loud ‘thunk’ that made Veronica and Acxa wince. “I’m just going to finish dinner in my room.”

He didn’t even wait for a response from the others before pushing himself off the table and walking as fast as he could back to his room.

 

* * *

 

Ultimately Keith never finished his dinner. He was too on edge after everything that happened in the mess hall, so after about thirty minutes of pacing his room until Kosmo whined and warped out of it, he decided he should go workout.

There was something almost religious about wrapping his hands as he stepped onto the mats, the bright red of the boxing wraps bringing him to a mindset in which he actually felt at peace. In the stillness of the gym, he took a deep, meditative breath, counting to ten and erasing all thoughts from his mind. And when his fists started to attack the punching bag, Keith felt every bit of anger, frustration, and disappointment begin to seep out of his pores.

He didn’t know how long he was there but knew it was long enough that a few people came and left by the time he was panting, hunched over and supporting his weight on his thighs. He wasn’t sure how much better he felt, but a good old-fashioned round of beating the crap out of a punching bag was always cathartic if nothing else.

Finally, he collapsed on the floor, starfished out on the mats as he tried to catch his breath. He was vaguely aware of someone opening the door and saying something like, “Jesus, he’s still here,” but Keith was well beyond the point of giving a fuck.

Eventually, he hoisted himself up off the floor and made his way back to the locker room. He showered quickly, and when he returned to the lockers to change, he found Kosmo waiting for him. He had no idea what made the wolf decide to come and find him there, but Keith didn’t put much thought into it beyond a pat on the head as he grabbed his gym bag and began pulling out fresh clothes.

He was almost entirely dressed when he realized he was missing a shirt. It was odd because he distinctly remembered putting one in there before he left his room. But since he was freshly clean, he didn’t want to put the sweat-soaked shirt he’d worked out in back on.

A soft snuffle reminded Keith that he wasn’t alone in the locker room and everything clicked.

“Kosmo,” he cooed, careful to keep his voice even lest he tip the wolf off something was wrong. “Hey, buddy. Have you seen my shirt?”

A tail thumped against the ugly tile floor.

“Kosmo,” Keith repeated, voice a little sterner as he approached his pet.

Kosmo was suddenly on his feet and taking off down the hallway. Since he wasn’t warping out of the room, Keith knew he just wanted to play, but he also really wanted his shirt back so he could leave the gym in dignity.

So Keith took off running after his disobedient dog and yelling profanities as he chased him down the halls of the Atlas, Keith ’s shirt hanging from his mouth.

Keith finally caught up to Kosmo in front of a door in the residence hall. Kosmo was whining and scratching at the door, begging to be let in.

“Kosmo, no!”

Keith dove for the dog but it was too late. The door opened and Shiro walked out in just a t-shirt and boxers, looking very confused at the scene before him.

“Keith?” He asked, his voice tinged with sleep.

Shit. Keith thought. My dumbass dog woke him up. And he’s now half naked in front of me. Fuck.

“Keith,” Shiro repeated, his voice softer this time. He must have seen the look of distress on Keith’s face because he immediately asked him what was wrong.

“Nothing! I’m sorry we woke you. Kosmo stole my shirt when I was changing after the gym and I chased him and...yeah. Sorry.”

Shiro blinked a few times as if his mind wasn’t awake enough to fully register what was happening. Things seemed to slowly click into place though as he realized that Keith was standing, very shirtless, in front of his bedroom door, and that he was still wet and fresh from the shower.

Keith wasn’t sure if the red flush on Shiro’s face was good or bad, but he was suddenly very self-conscious of the fact that he was in nothing more than basketball shorts and sneakers. Shiro looked like he wanted to say something, but kept stopping himself. Keith was getting ready to admit defeat and grab his now drool-soaked shirt from Kosmo when James appeared behind him and yelled, “See? I told you they’re boning!”

Shiro’s face flushed an alarming shade of red and Keith wheeled on James so fast, he hadn’t even noticed the fangs protruding from his own mouth as he snarled, “We are not together!”

James didn’t even try to argue, merely backed away for a few steps before promptly doing an about-face and power walking down the hallway. Poor Kinkade looked like he had no idea how to respond so he just looked at the floor and followed James.

“Keith,” Shiro’s voice brought him back to the present, soft but confused. “Keith, is the idea of dating me that horrible?”

“What? Oh god, no!” Keith immediately realized his mistake. “Fuck. No, Shiro, I’m so sorry. James has just been getting on my nerves and I finally snapped and oh my god, I’m such an idiot. Everyone just keeps saying we’re dating and we’re not and--”

He didn’t even finish the thought and instead grabbed Kosmo by the collar and hauled ass out of there, all the way back to his own room. The instant he was inside, he threw himself on the bed and screamed into a pillow.

 

* * *

 

Keith spent the next several days avoiding Shiro. He couldn’t bear to face him after his outburst, and he just felt absolutely horrible about it. He tried to come up with a way to explain to Shiro that he wasn’t upset by the idea of dating him, he was just...

What was Keith upset about?

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had no idea whatsoever why he’d blown up like that at the idea that he and Shiro were dating. Was he opposed to dating Shiro? Or was he just so frustrated because he wished they were dating and literally everybody except Shiro could see how great they were together…

Oh.

Keith wanted to scream at his own idiocy.

It took him quite some time of sitting down in his room and doing some serious self-reflection, but Keith finally came to the realization that maybe he wanted to be more than best friends with Shiro. That maybe he’d actually been in love with Shiro for a long, long time.

And all he could think about was how badly he had screwed up any chance he had at them being together.

Keith knew that the next step would be to talk to Shiro. But he didn’t know how to approach the topic with him, especially when he’d been so obviously avoiding the other man for several days. Part of him thought maybe he should seek advice from a third party, but he wasn’t too keen on his choices. He refused to talk to Lance about this, Pidge wouldn’t have a great answer beyond “shut up and get out of my lab,” Hunk was just as awkward as Keith (although in a much more lovable way), and he didn’t think Allura understood enough about human relationships to be of much help here.

Thankfully, he ended up needing not to talk to anybody. At that moment, by some terrifyingly serendipitous timing, his datapad dinged with a new notification.

Are you busy? It was from Shiro.

Keith took a deep breath before responding. No. What’s up?

Can you come over? I want to talk.

Keith balked at his datapad for a few seconds, debating on how to respond. Someone randomly saying they want to talk was never a good sign, but Keith knew if he didn’t go over to Shiro’s, the feelings that had been plaguing him for the last several days would end up eating him alive.

So before he could second-guess himself, he typed out a response. Yeah, on my way.

He glared at Kosmo as he walked out of the room. “Don’t you dare steal anything from me this time,” and slammed the door shut, the wolf watching him leave, head cocked to the side.

Keith made his way down the halls to Shiro’s room, a route he long knew by heart. The halls were dark, indicating the late hour, but Keith never knew what time it was anymore while in space. The artificial light cycles had a way of throwing his circadian rhythms to hell, and he was happy just to find time to sleep for a solid eight hours at so-called night.

When he reached Shiro’s door, he hesitated for a heartbeat before steeling himself and knocking on the door. His knuckles had barely tapped the metal before it was whirring open, and Shiro’s was there, his face flushed and nervous.  
  
“Keith! Come in.” Shiro gestured to the room behind him and stepped aside for Keith to enter.

The room was as familiar to Keith as his own, but for the first time since he’d known Shiro, he felt nervous there. Other than the awkwardness that had enveloped them over the past week or so, Keith’s newly realized feelings had left him feeling anxious and internally battling with himself on how to best talk to Shiro about everything.

He turned to face Shiro, ready to spill his guts. But the words died on his lips as he looked around and took in the scene before him.

Truthfully, it was all over the top. There were candles lit around the room, a bouquet of roses sitting on the desk...Keith had no idea what to make of it all.

“Shiro?” Keith asked. “Why is everything so...much?”

Shiro fidgeted with the hem of his shirt sleeve, looking down at the floor for a minute before he spoke. “The other day when Griffin made that comment, it made me start thinking about us and where our relationship stands. And where I want it to go.”

He looked at Keith, eyes begging for permission to continue. When Keith nodded, Shiro visibly swallowed and continued. “And it made me realize a few things.”

“Which are…?”

Shiro took a deep breath and scratched the back of his head. “I uh...I have feelings for you. Romantic, feelings, I mean.”

Keith stared at Shiro, not sure he’d heard him right. “Wait, seriously?”

A frustrated groan escaped from Shiro as he buried his face in his hands. “Keith, I’ve felt this way for a long time. I honestly thought we were dating, but then you made such a big deal out of how we aren’t dating when Griffin made that stupid comment that I realized maybe we weren’t on the same page.”  
  
“Oh,” Keith didn’t know what else to say. He’d only just realized his feelings for Shiro, but Shiro had felt this way for a long time. It was exciting and overwhelming, if not hard for him to believe.

“God, I’m the worst,” Keith groaned, then panicked when he realized how that sounded. “Wait! I’m the worst because I only just realized that I’m in love with you too. And probably have been since you got me into the Garrison, but I was a coward and you were with Adam, so I never said anything.”

“Keith,” Keith couldn’t meet Shiro’s eyes, but his voice sounded relieved, even happy.

He looked up to ask Shiro if that was okay, but he didn’t get a chance as thick arms wrapped around him. Shiro’s face was buried in his neck, inhaling deeply, and Keith shakily returned the embrace.

“We should have talked a long time ago,” Shiro murmured.

“Yeah, we should have,” Keith laughed. “We’re such idiots.”

Shiro hummed in agreement and pulled away. “Also, I realized a couple of days ago that today is Valentine’s Day. So sorry to kinda spring all of this over the top romantic stuff on you, but I got excited.”

For whatever reason, that made Keith laugh at the same time he was letting out a groan of pure embarrassment. “For real? It’s fucking Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes, you ungrateful brat,” Shiro rolled his eyes but there was nothing but humor in his voice.

“Well, in that case, you should have gotten more roses.”

“Excuse you, I realized all of this two days ago. You’re lucky we were in the same solar system because I did a run back to Earth. Everything was sold out, though.”

Keith snorted. “Sorry, Valentine?”

Keith couldn’t help the stupid grin that spread across his face. He’d spent days agonizing over how things happened, all for nothing because Shiro returned his feelings. And now they were confessing horrendously cheesy love lines to each other.

“Can I kiss you?” Shiro’s voice broke the silence.

“Oh fuck, yes,” Keith didn’t even give Shiro a chance to say anything else before reaching up and sealing their lips together.

At some point, they fell backward on the bed. Keith didn’t even notice right away as they each peeled off their clothes, taking their time to explore and learn each other’s bodies. They’d spent years pining for each other, a few more minutes as they kissed, nibbled, and sucked were nothing.

It was almost surreal when Shiro finally pushed into Keith, the feeling of their bodies coming together so incredible that Keith made an embarrassing noise. But he also couldn’t quite believe still that it was happening, that Shiro loved him and was buried deep inside of him.

“You okay, baby?” Shiro was breathless above him, panting and clearly trying to control himself.

Keith nodded, then realized a few stray tears had leaked from his eyes. He brushed them away as he said, “Yeah. More than okay.”

Then they were moving. Keith didn’t mind the initial burn, as it quickly dissipated into feelings of strong pleasure. The drag of Shiro’s cock against his inner walls had him crying out, clinging to Shiro’s shoulders while he whined and panted against him.

In turn, Shiro sang praises to Keith, alternating between kissing him deeply and leaving love bites over his neck and chest. Keith keened and rolled his hips with each thrust, his cries of Shiro’s name getting louder and louder.

Soon, too soon, he felt the familiar warmth building in his belly. “Shit,” he tried to warn Shiro, but his words were drowned out by Shiro’s mouth closing over his.

“Go ahead. I want to hear you scream my name while you come.”

That was all it took for Keith to comply, spilling his seed all over their stomachs and chests with a loud shout of, “Shiro!”

Shiro wasn’t far behind, coming with a loud grunt inside Keith. They rode out their waves of orgasm until they fell over, curled around each other and sharing lots of chaste kisses along their overly sensitive skin.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Shiro laughed, his voice saying he was in denial.

Keith groaned and shoved playfully at his chest. “My ass is very well aware that it happened. I’ll be feeling this tomorrow.”

“Sorry,” Shiro smirked and hid his face in Keith’s neck.

Keith knew Shiro wasn’t sorry at all. He rolled his eyes and patted Shiro on the shoulder as he pushed himself off the bed, ignoring the whine of protest he got from Shiro. “Come on, babe, let’s go take a shower.”

It took a lot of coaxing, but Keith managed to get Shiro up and into the adjoining bathroom for a quick shower. When they came back out, they didn’t bother to redress, simply collapsed back in the bed and snuggled up together under the covers.

“You know this makes James right after all of that,” Shiro teased. “We are boning now.”

He howled with laughter as Keith thumped him on the chest with his fist. “Never say that again.”

They fell asleep teasing each other, and in the morning when they entered the mess hall together, ignored all the applause and wolf whistles thrown their way. Keith gave Lance and James each the finger, and Shiro smiled shyly and told everyone they were together now, so they could stop teasing Keith already.

Everyone continued to tease them, of course. But Keith was fine with it. He had Shiro and that was all that mattered.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FoxyLovesFandom) or [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/theinsanefox)!


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